The recession has certainly hit some of us quite badly and I guess many of us think twice now about what we spend and how we spend our very hard earned cash. Wedding budgeting is no exception and you would think that the amount of weddings has dropped. Well I bet you would be surprised to hear that the register offices reported a rise in marriages and civil partnerships since the troubles with our economy. Experts say the trend could be a result of people looking for greater stability at a time of uncertainty. These facts were reported in the Telegraph in January 2009.
This might be responsible for the increasing trend in mid week weddings. For the budget conscious they are a great saver indeed. Arabella Dupont, executive retail editor at Brides magazine says this is a definite trend. “The main reason is cost, getting married mid week can be a third cheaper”. I certainly am seeing that with my brides and the venues they are choosing. In Augusts edition of Brides magazine it shows the average spend on a wedding is £24,669. You certainly want to look for great deals and savings when you are spending that amount of money.
Other reasons why couples are looking at mid-week weddings are:
Greater Choice and Availability.
There are only so many weekends in a year and venues that are in high demand are booked up at least a year sometimes two in advance. If you want to marry in a stately home or beautiful mansion with grounds then you have much more chance if you book a mid week wedding. You can save as much as 40% in the peak wedding season. On a Saturday this may have been completely outside of your budget or dates you had available.
Also if you are recently engaged and you don’t want a long engagement spent saving up, this is a great way to get the wedding you want and reduce the amount of time you have to wait for it.
Supplier Deals
Photographers often advertise special packages for mid-week weddings. As well as venues they like to enjoy the prospect of more work than on a Saturday or Sunday. This goes for many other wedding suppliers too. You may also argue that suppliers are more relaxed in the week and have more time to spend with you.
Of course there are disadvantages to mid-week weddings so they do have to be thought that out well in advance.
Top Tips if You are Planning a Mid-Week Wedding
- Ensure you let your guests know the date well in advance. Send out save the date cards to be sure to give everyone time to book holiday and arrange child care if necessary.
- Think about the week day you choose. A Thursday is a good day as there is not too much of the working week left to work or book holiday for. The day before Bank Holidays are good, for instance the thursday before Good Friday. A friday is of course a great one as it makes for a lovely long weekend. You may not enjoy the same savings but you should be able to negotiate a better price.
- Think about how long your guests have to travel. If you marry early in the day it may mean they have to book an extra day before the wedding just to get there. On the other hand if you hold the wedding later in the day, perhaps around 4pm it gives everyone more chance to arrive and have time to change etc.
- Mid-week weddings do seem to be smaller more intimate gatherings. The money you save on the venue costs can then be used to spoil your guests or to book that really cool photographer you want.
- If you have a job in the public services sector then weekends are not really that much of an issue because they are generally worked, so a mid-week wedding for couples who work in the police force or nursing for instance are much more comfortable with the timing. Of course then many of their friends also do the same jobs.
Here are some statistics on what day is the most popular – sourced from the Office of National Statistics 2008
Monday 3.9%
Tuesday 2.8%
Wednesday 3.5%
Thursday 5%
Friday 18.9%
Saturday 60.4% and Sunday 5.5%
There is an argument that some of your friends just won’t come to a mid-week wedding or enjoy themselves as much as they are thinking about work the next day if holiday is limited. I have to say I researched this post and the feedback from most guests who had attended mid-week weddings was that because they had been able to plan well in advance they had just as much fun as a weekend event.
Here is a list of venues that are offering mid-week deals.
Hargate Hall - This lovely venue in Derbyshire offer a package that they have put together with other wedding suppliers which costs £4,000. It includes invites, a wedding breakfast for 40 and evening buffet for 80 as well as DJ and exclusive use and more.
Rowton Hall – Another package for £3,3375 which is an inclusive package for 60 day guests and 80 evening guests. A huge saving on a weekend booking. This venue is in Chester.
Ringwood Hall – Midweek packages here are£2,995 which includes a meal for 40 and buffet for 75 with drinks on arrival and a few more extras. This is nearly a 50% saving. This is a beautiful venue near to Chesterfield.
These are just a few examples to get you started. If you want to have the wedding you really want but a weekend cost is just out of the question you certainly have an alternative in this growing trent.
Until next time, happy planning.
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